Right at the beginning of the new Formula 1 season, Max Verstappen positioned himself as the chief critic of the rule reforms and even indicated several times that he would withdraw from the premier class. He doesn’t just make friends with this.
The former British Formula 1 driver and 1999 vice world champion Eddie Irvine has little to gain from the criticism of the new rules that Max Verstappen has expressed several times. “Formula 1 doesn’t need Max, there are enough talented drivers,” said the Ferrari icon in an interview with “Gazzetta dello Sport”. The Dutchman had indicated more than once that he would be leaving the premier class because he didn’t like the new generation of cars at all.
Irvine added: “It’s tough for him just to be down the table, but if he thinks about his salary I’m sure there are 50 million good reasons to stay.” Verstappen, tied to Red Bull until 2028, is the top earner in Formula 1. His base salary is $65 million, plus $11 million in bonus payments in 2025.
Headwinds had recently been blowing against the four-time world champion from another direction. Former driver Martin Brundle said on the “Sky” podcast “The F1 Show”: “Either go or stop talking about it!”
Irvine: There will be a bang at Mercedes
Verstappen recently made his first detour into another series: he got into the Mercedes-AMG GT3 car on the Nordschleife, and in May he drove in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring.
Based on the impressions of the first three races of the season, it seems almost impossible for Max Verstappen to intervene in the title race again. With just twelve points, the Red Bull driver is only in ninth place in the drivers’ standings, while Mercedes drivers Kimi Antonelli (72) and George Russell (63) have already built up a good cushion.
For Irvine, the 19-year-old Antonelli is “a real candidate for the title this year”, although it is still too early to make predictions about the further course of the World Cup. Meanwhile, he was “100 percent sure” that there will be a clash between the two Mercedes teammates in the coming races: “There is too much at stake and both drivers are showing similar performances. That’s why Toto Wolff cannot intervene with a team order.”
